Kaylub Giamanco recounted his decision to enter Silver Rail Elementary School with a handgun to stop an armed teenager. The Bend carpenter said he is haunted by the victims he could not save.
A 36-year-old carpenter who shot and killed a teenage gunman at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, spoke publicly for the first time on Friday about his decision to rush into the building. Kaylub Giamanco told Oregon Public Broadcasting that he acted on instinct when he confronted the attacker last week, an intervention that authorities said halted further bloodshed.
The Oct. 15 attack ended after police identified the gunman and bystander who confronted him in a special education classroom. The shooter killed three children and a teacher before Giamanco intervened, while a second teacher and another student suffered injuries.
A sudden detour on lunch break
Giamanco, whose two daughters attend the school, was near the campus only because of a last-minute change in plans on Thursday, NBC News reported. He had packed a lunch for work but decided instead to drive home to eat leftover tacos with his wife. He also thought about stopping at a masonry shop to buy bolts he needed for a project, but he skipped the errand and stayed on his route toward home.
As he drove down Brentwood Avenue, Giamanco saw a man dressed in black carrying a long gun. The individual opened fire on a vehicle and shot toward a woman who was mowing the school lawn. Giamanco initially wondered if the incident was a prank, but he watched the teenager throw the weapon over the school fence and climb after it.
Giamanco pulled into the school parking lot as panic set in. He reached into his truck console for a .40-caliber handgun that he rarely carried, retrieved a magazine from another compartment, and loaded the weapon. He used voice commands on his phone to call emergency responders, but he told the dispatcher he could not remain on the line to answer questions.
“I said, ‘I’m sorry, I have to go in. People are going to die,'” Giamanco said.
Crawling through a broken window
Giamanco entered the school grounds while attempting to stay low and out of sight. He heard two gunshots hit school doors, followed by children screaming and pleading for their lives as more gunfire erupted inside. Expecting that he would not survive the encounter, he dropped to his knees and crawled toward the building.
He climbed inside through a shattered window, according to details reported by CBS News. Holding his weapon ready, he crawled down the hallway until he reached the doorway of a special education classroom. Inside, a teacher was actively wrestling with the teenager on the floor, trying to pull the rifle away from him.
Giamanco pushed the door open and fired at the shooter, who did not know he was there. The teacher ran out of the room after the initial shot, possibly fearing that Giamanco was another attacker. The wounded gunman remained on the floor and began reaching again for his firearm. Giamanco fired two more rounds to stop him from moving or shooting anyone else.
Aftermath and grief
Police officers and emergency medical teams arrived moments later. Giamanco went back outside to his truck, unloaded his handgun, and called his wife to tell her he would not be making it home for lunch. He then called his mother in California, Kenda Freeman, who tried to reassure him that he had acted courageously and saved lives.
“I didn’t save everybody. I didn’t get them all,” Giamanco replied to his mother.
Officials later identified the attacker as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II after the Oregon elementary school shooting, which claimed the lives of three students, ages 5, 8, and 11, along with a 25-year-old teacher. A 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were injured. Authorities noted that the teacher who tackled the teenager helped limit the loss of life, and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek commended Giamanco for stepping in to protect students.
Giamanco spent the days immediately following the shooting keeping out of the public eye, offering only a brief written message to thank first responders. He said the trauma continues to keep him awake at night, where he replays the scene and wishes he could have intervened even faster. He expressed sorrow for the families who lost children, explaining that despite receiving praise, he struggles with the deaths that occurred before he arrived.
Looking forward, Giamanco said he wants to use his public platform to raise money for security upgrades in local schools. He explained that although he viewed himself as an ordinary carpenter before the shooting, he now feels an obligation to help prevent similar violence.
